Matthew FitzGerald | Meet Our Team
About Matthew FitzGerald
Title: Timber Development Team Leader
Team Member Since: May 2016
Industry Organizations: Registered Forester in Training with the Association of BC Forest Professionals
Career Path
Q: Describe your career path. How did you get into what you do now?
A: I started working for Spectrum as a summer student when I was completing my forestry studies at The University of Northern British Columbia. I chose to work with Spectrum to fulfill my desire to learn about conventional forestry practices. Ever since that first summer, I have loved my work and the lifestyle that it allows me to live.
Goals & Passions
Q: What are your goals for you and your team?
A: My goal for my team and myself is to create a safe and enjoyable work environment that focuses on delivering a quality product. I have always found that my team works best when they are enjoying their work and it is for this reason that I try to place an emphasis on taking advantage of the beautiful places this job takes us.
Q: What are you most passionate about professionally? What excites you most about your work?
A: I am deeply passionate about working alongside First Nations communities in the north to improve our practices so that we may better protect wildlife habitats and watershed values in northern British Columbia.
Hobbies & Interests
Q: What do you like to do when you aren’t working?
A: Outside of work, some of the activities that keep me occupied include fly fishing, fly tying, restoring classic trucks as well as the art of making clothes . I also enjoy restoring old road bikes into fixed-gear bicycles.
Q: What’s something about you that not many people know?
A: I enjoy cooking the traditional Polish food that I grew up eating such as cabbage rolls and borscht.
Q: Who was the most influential person in your life?
A: The most influential person in my life is still water fly fishing pioneer and legendary fish biologist Brian Chan. His promotion of fly fishing in British Columbia and his creation of a recreational fishery that is well regarded worldwide is inspiring.
Q: What is a value statement or quote you live by?
A: “What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.” -Zig Ziglar
